Patience And Time
by CallenAmakuni
Summary: She was a queen. He was a soldier. She grew up suppressing her emotions, hoping to let them go. He grew up constantly amplifying his, dreading the day they would be of no help. She wanted her people's happiness at the cost of her own. He tried to mend the world's sorrow to quell his guilt. But in the end, it all came down to one single thing: they both held the same power.
1. Patience

**AN: Hello and Welcome! Take a seat, take a seat!**

 **Here's the first chapter to this fic. I have a few ideas that are begging to be written!**

 **But that's for later. For now, I hope you'll enjoy Chapter 1!**

* * *

 _Thirteen years before Frozen. Somewhere in England._

A few leaves shuffled with the gentle breeze that was slowly caressing the land. The sun's rays would still have to wait for a few hours before starting to shower on the still slumbering forest. The same could be said about the little town that neared it, whose inhabitants would not emerge from sleep before dawn. Years back, everyone would already be out, working the hard wood they had chopped the day before, cutting and polishing every piece, earning their living through the veins of the material they bended to their will and transformed for decades. But the recent industrial prowess had sent a shameless surge of laziness throughout the entire country, and save for a few grumpy old men who fondly recalled the good ol' days during which every living soul was awake before even the Sun was, the people were quite happy with it to say the least.

Indeed, why wake up at four in the morning and cut down trees when the brand new railway allowed the merchandise to be delivered directly to the shop, at a much more comfortable hour? Many had practically jumped out of joy when the train station had finally been inaugurated.

However, sometimes in the middle of the night, a single silhouette usually found her way out of one of the little cozy houses, seemingly very careful not to make the tiniest noise that would Oh-so unfortunately draw the attention of the sleeping family inside. And this was one of those nights.

The shadowy figure, not standing at more than five feet, slowly closed the door and swiftly took a look at the village's main plaza, scanning the area for any early birds. The old veteran that lived several houses further had proved himself to be quite the nostalgic type after all. Seeing that the way was entirely free, the silhouette slipped out of town as fast as she could, and disappeared in the heavy obscurity the trees were protecting from the dim moonlight.

Tiny footsteps troubled the silence that had befallen the majestic forest since lights had died out, their little plops only being heard by a few squirrels. Not too long after they were accompanied by heavy breathing, in which one could also feel a certain tinge of excitement. The tiny figure stopped every once in a while to scan the area she was in with narrowed eyes. The obscurity would have prevented anyone from following her unless they were literally clinging to her back, but she absolutely wanted to make sure that no one actually did.

When she felt she had finally reached her destination, the silhouette slowly came to a halt and quickly hid in a bush overlooking a small square surrounded by thirty-feet high pines. Allowing her eyes to slowly adapt to whatever light they managed to perceive, she waited a few moments before coming out of her hiding place, hardly managing to contain an excited grin.

The shadow stood near the square's center, and after a last check – better safe than sorry after all – completely focused her gaze on her closed hand. And she stayed there, completely motionless. The weather was growing colder by the second, but the small figure wasn't bothered.

After several minutes, a very faint light seemed to emerge from the tips of its fingers. The fidgety glimmer slowly grew to cover the whole tiny fist that was holding it, its moderate yet pure brilliance enveloping more and more of the surroundings with each second passing. It eventually grew large enough to fully light the silhouette's lower face, revealing very rosy cheeks and a wide smile. Then, slowly, it reached a little pointy nose, then slightly green but very opened eyes, and finally the entire visage of a young boy that couldn't be older than ten, whose traits were literally as bright from sheer thrill as the light he was apparently producing.

When the child felt that he could get comfortable, he very carefully untightened his fist, muttering a little 'Wow' when he saw what it held.

In the palm of his hand lay the microscopic statue of a wolf completely made of crystal ice, no bigger than a penny and very rough on the edges, but still large and pretty enough to make the little boy bounce up and down in glee right where he stood as soon as the shock dissipated enough for him to be able to move.

It was the first time he had managed to create something so sophisticated, something that could actually be associated with another description than 'little ice thingy'. His sculptures had until then been as plain as tiny balls or triangles, as much plain as sculpting with ice summoned from thin air could get.

This time he was truly seeing what his countless tries had brought up in him, what his frequent voyages were able to let him achieve. It wasn't really much, but to a child, the sensation of pride and accomplishment he was feeling was like no other.

He was the only one wo knew about his escapades, he hadn't talked about it with anyone. Only his mother was aware he even had those abilities. Truth be told, he hadn't been himself until he reached his fifth spring, when he had noticed a thick layer of frost covering his fork. The way he had screamed had already not been very reassuring, and he later guessed his panicked look when he threw the utensil to his feet while violently standing up in the middle of a meal probably hadn't been of great help. He had shakily cried for a few hours in his mom's arms after that as she gently rocked him, before she made him promise not to divulge what she called their 'precious secret' to anyone, and especially not to his father.

He had always kept his promise, but as time passed, he had grown to find his abilities quite intriguing, and certainly very pleasing to look at. Interestingly enough, snow was quite a rare sight in that part of the land, and having a personal little factory had provided him with some sense of wonder at times. He finally couldn't stop himself from escaping his house a few nights a week to learn more about his powers and how to control them. He even tried his hand at sculpture at one point, and just continued practicing from then on.

And that night, he had finally made something as complicated as a wolf with his own little fingers.

Not bothering to keep his joy in check, he delicately put the absolutely magnificent work of exquisite art – at least it was to him – on the ground, and shot a sparkly furrow of snowflakes in the air, letting it bathe his face in its oddly comfortable and tingly warmth. He then expanded his arms on both sides and began running around with a happy laugh, the icy trails his hands left as they passed slowly making their way to the ground. His victorious grin only widened when he managed to inscribe his own name on a tree nearby with his natural frozen ink. He stopped there for a moment, contemplating it, and then took a look at his fingers, spinning them around and marveling at how a glittering steam escaped from their tips, unhindered and thick like never before. He then approached his small wolf, and put his hands forward while closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he was greeted by the sight of a snowy blanket.

Letting himself fall down with a laugh, he then crossed his legs, ran a hand through his deep red and swept back hair, and observed the little icy footsteps that were now scattered around and the microscopic icicles that were nearly imperceptibly sticking out from the ground.

 _His_ icicles. Made with _his_ ice.

He let his shoulders slump with a satisfied sigh. He was very quickly adjusting to having those powers, and he couldn't be happier about it.

Fun time was nearly over though, but still he had a moment to make one or two more statues before heading back home. As he began to concentrate once again however, a chill ran down his spine when he suddenly heard the subtle shuffle of bushes a few meters behind and the last voice he expected or wanted to hear at that time calling him in a shocked whisper. He slowly turned around, his eyes wide and hands steaming. A deadly silence lingered on, and eventually the intruder ushered a few words.

"What… What is that?"

The boy's heart was pounding so loud that he was sure the sound was resonating with the trees around, and he felt his arms weaken.

"You …You did all of this?" the voice continued.

The boy's head dropped. He struggled a bit but managed to make his face take a more composed expression.

 _No sense in hiding it anymore._

He spoke in a shaky voice.

"Yes… Father."

* * *

 _One year after Frozen. A few miles away from Arendelle._

Summer had never been an institution for Anna. Spending her entire time inside the castle, she didn't really bother to check if it was hot enough to go out. But ever since the gates had been opened, she just discovered that she actually loved summer. Heat was quite insufferable at times, but the sound of the seagulls coming back North and the special 'smell' of summer -that only she could detect of course- had given the season a special place in her heart. Or maybe was it because summer was the time of the year that had witnessed both her and Elsa getting out of an alienating isolation AND her meeting Kristoff?

Hmm… Maybe.

She nevertheless loved her new freedom to explore her kingdom, and took every opportunity available to travel around in order for her to snatch glimpses of the land at all possible times and drag Arendelle's official Ice Deliverer along with her.

And he wasn't happy about that.

"…and why did you need me?" Kristoff huffed in an annoyed voice, as they both walked through the now green and grassy wood they had crawled through a year before.

"You're telling me you don't want to see the castle when there's no snow around? I know that's not true," Anna answered with a strangely effective mix of a pout and a glare.

"I do Anna, BUT I have work to do. Don't go appointing me as Ice Deliverer if you're not letting me work when I have to… We can do this another day, when, you know, I'll have the time?"

Anna lifted her chin and squared her shoulders in her best impression of a regal manner. She then raised a finger as she spoke.

"I, for one, did not appoint you as anything, Sir Kristoff. Elsa did. Besides, it is an honorary post. And two," she raised a second finger at that. "I want you to accompany me, and so it will be. I am a Princess and you shall heed my commands. You should thank me for the honor I am bestowing upon you by my mere presence."

Kristoff smiled, catching her playful tone.

"No, I won't."

"But you must."

"And what's going to make sure I do?"

"I will."

Kristoff narrowed his eyes with a smirk as he ever so slightly tilted his body towards Anna.

"Oh, how ominous. Her Highness knows that I could very well just take her on my shoulder and flee far, far away from the kingdom. She and I would completely vanish, never to be found again. And she would be begging for my mercy."

The Princess dramatically brought her palm to her mouth and exaggeratedly gasped.

"Oh my... It is true that I am defenseless… However, you're forgetting that the Queen would never let her sister disappear. She would track you down and punish you for your crimes, you filthy cupcake!"

That got them to stop in their tracks. They both looked at each other awkwardly for a split second before Kristoff erupted in loud fits of laughter and Anna felt heat coming up to her face.

"Hey! It … just came ou- I'm hungry okay?" she managed to mutter through her embarrassment as Kristoff bent over and tears began to form in his eyes.

"Oh Anna… You're the best, you know that?" he blustered between a few ragged breaths.

After a while he finally managed to calm himself and envelop Anna in a hug.

"I'm sorry, it was just too much for me not to laugh," he said with a few chuckles.

Anna smiled and put her own arms across his back. She knew he had held no will to mock her. He never did.

But it didn't mean that she couldn't make use of such a situation.

"So are you coming with me? To make amends?" she said with a just-detached-enough tone, suppressing a laugh as she felt him stiffen.

"All right… But just this time," he finally sighed.

The ice palace Elsa had built in her liberating rush had become a renowned sight around the kingdom and the few neighboring lands. The strength of Elsa's emotions when erecting it made it so that it wouldn't melt even in the most heated days of summer, and it still stood proudly, perched on the North Mountain's side. The sun's rays reflecting in the crystal clear construction gave it an aura it lacked during snow days, and their reverberation created a halo that seemed to swallow the entire building in its rainbow-like shining.

Anna sighed contentedly as she gazed from under the stairs upon the construction that her sister had –on her word- built in around seventy seconds and that every architect in the world would be completely unable to reproduce.

"It is really something huh," she heard Kristoff say.

"Yeah…" she answered in a dreamy voice.

They both took a seat on a rock nearby that allowed them to look down on the entire fjord and the valley at its East. They both marveled at the sight and scooped closer to each other, Anna nuzzling her cheek against Kristoff's right shoulder as he leaned back on one hand.

"Regret coming here?" she asked with a smug grin after a few minutes of silent contemplation.

He responded by absentmindedly playing with a few of her crimson locks.

"Not as much as I should."

A few hours passed as they talked about whatever crossed their minds –how Kristoff's hair was getting a bit too long for Anna's taste, or how Elsa had hilariously sent back home the first and thus far only suitor a few days earlier- and when the sun had already begun setting, they decided it was time to go back.

The wood was not as dark as they expected it to be, even though the sun was on the verge of disappearing under the horizon, but Kristoff remained vigilant, throwing glances here and there with every step while holding Anna's hand as she walked beside him, her eyes no less alert than his.

"I'm sorry I kept us there much longer than I should have…" she whispered apologetically.

He gently run his thumb over the back of her hand.

"Don't apologize, I enjoyed it too. You actually saved me from a very boring day, so thank you," he answered while throwing a tender smile towards her. She mirrored the gesture with a light blush.

"No prob…"

The words died out in her throat as she saw a cold metal piece hover before her and a hand cover her mouth. She was about to scream to Kristoff for help when she saw with horrified eyes that two masked figures had already been around him and that he wasn't in a much better position than her.

"You cry, you both die," a rough voice hissed into her ear.

They were brought down on their knees and forcefully gagged as a man walked out from behind a tree.

"What do we have here?" he calmly said. His mouth was contorted into a toothless grin.

He approached Anna and bent down. The Princess leaned away as much as she could while Kristoff began to shift on his spot, seemingly trying to reach for her, some muffled grunts escaping from the tissue obstructing his mouth while his captors struggled to keep him in place.

The man who seemingly was the leader carefully examined Anna, and motioned for his men to search Kristoff.

After a few moments the leader straightened his back with a sickening smile and clasped his hands.

"Okay boys, looks like we have found a very interesting piece right here."

Anna's already fast pulse seemed to quicken even more.

 _What did THAT mean?_

"What about the dude?" one of Kristoff's captors asked.

"We'll take him too. Might bring some coin if sold to the right person."

Anna shot a panicked look at her companion, who only responded with a shallow gaze. He couldn't move and neither could she. And it was becoming increasingly difficult to control the dizziness she felt in her head. They were both brutally thrown against a nearby tree while their four kidnappers discussed.

Kristoff endlessly tried to untie his hands while Anna continued to search for something, or hopefully someone, that could help them. But everything had gone so fast, she was very doubtful what was happening could even be noticed. And if somehow they managed to free themselves, they would have to fight a two to one battle. She was quickly growing desperate.

However, right at that moment, she caught a blue flash rapidly travelling accross the forest's obscurity. Her eyes widened.

"Alright, we should hit the road. If her pendant is anything to go by, her family's rich. They may begin to search for her way too early for my taste," the leader loudly said while rubbing his chin. Two of his henchmen nodded and began walking back to where they had left the couple.

As soon as they neared their latest preys, an arrow flew right between them and stuck itself in the tree's bark with a swift whistle, severing Kristoff's ties and freeing his hand. While the two assaillants froze in surprise, Kristoff brought his fist to the first's face. He then immediately blocked the dagger that the second had unsheated and swinged at him, and pushed as far from the tree as possible.

Anna couldn't do much but watch. And she was hardly believing what she did.

She was witnessing the very strange sight of a deep red-headed man that had appeared out of nowhere in a simple traveler's garb flipping one of their aggressors over with a swipe of his legs while throwing his elbow at the leader's face, knocking him out with lightning speed before he even had time to react. The other bandit tried to stand back up but was only able to get on his knees before he felt an unusually heavy foot violently twisting his head in a very wrong direction.

The newcomer then almost casually walked towards where Kristoff struggled against his opponent. Fighting unarmed was a huge drawback and the former was already visibly going to have his stamina drop after a few dodges. The Trolls' child had already suffered a light cut on his forearm, but had a fiery determination in his eyes. He brought his knuckles up in an offensive stance and was about to rush into his enemy's range when he was suddenly interrupted by a calm voice with a strange accent.

"Over here, mate."

Before either of them had time to process the sentence, the stranger grabbed the bandit from his shirt's collar and brutally brought him to the ground while his target screeched. He then bent down and silenced his grunts with a frighteningly fast punch that landed with a horrifying crack. Kristoff let his tightened fists fall down to his sides and almost dozed off. However, he immediately seemed to snap back to reality.

"Anna!"

Running back to where she was still sitting, Kristoff hurriedly untied her and with shaking hands returned the hug that she gave him as soon as she was free.

"Thank God…" he managed to mutter as they fiercely clung to each other.

"Are you okay?" she asked in a small voice.

"Nothing major," he immediately answered while connecting his forehead to hers and putting a chaste kiss on her cheek.

After a few minutes, they suddenly remembered that they owed their safety to the red-headed stranger. They both turned around to see said man examining the bandits he had put down one by one, taking away any sharp instrument they held before tying them together as tightly as he could and pinning them to another tree.

When he got back up on his feet, he dusted his hands with a satisfied smile and turned to check up on the two travelers he had saved, only to find them walking towards him with their hands intertwined. They finally could have a good look at him, and he seemed in his mid twenties. Light green eyes really stood out from his face along with a pointy nose. He was wearing a fur cloak on top of a plain white shirt and deep brown wide trousers that were held by a blue belt extending quite far up his lower abdomen.

"Are you two in one piece?" he asked with the most caring tone he could manage.

"Entirely," Kristoff answered with a warm smile.

"I don't know how we could ever thank you…" Anna said through teary eyes.

The stranger simply waved it off.

"Ah don't worry about that princess, you're safe and sound. I couldn't just pass by and leave you both into those bastards' hands now, could I?"

Kristoff and Anna exchanged knowing glances.

"Would you care to follow us to our kingdom? We can see that you are appropriately rewarded. We'll also have to send a detachment to bring back those snakes."

The stranger lightly bowed his head.

"Appreciate it but I was already headed towards Arendelle."

The glances exchanged were now a little more confused.

"Umm... Well, it's..." Kristoff began.

"Uh… this… This is Arendelle…" Anna awkwardly finished while pointing to the ground.

The stranger's eyes slightly widened. He then seemed to talk to himself.

"…this much?"

"What?"

"Oh no, never mind. I just hadn't realized I was already where I wanted to go. In that case, I'd gladly accompany you. But please, don't feel obliged to reward me. I did what I had to do, nothing more."

"Nonsense," Anna snorted.

She then dragged both Kristoff and their savior, grabbing his right hand in a hurry. Apart from feeling oddly cold, she noticed that it was slightly shaking, but didn't pay much attention to it on the spot.

As they got away from the attack's site, no one noticed the little water pool that had formed under a tree.

* * *

"So I see that you already know me," Anna chirped a few minutes later. "In any case, this is…"

"Umm…" the stranger lifted his hands apologetically. "I don't know why you said that or if we already met, but I'm sorry, I actually don't know either of you…" he winced. The young woman raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"But you called me 'Princess' earlier…"

The man lightly blushed.

"Oh… I didn't… That's just… the way I talk..."

 _Wait._

"You're an actual Princess?" he loudly asked.

Anna giggled while Kristoff smirked.

"Anna, First Princess of Arendelle," she introduced herself while tugging at her dress in a semi-formal bow.

The stranger didn't really know how to react, so he nervously just settled for a light curtesy bow as well.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Your Highness."

"Oh drop the titles already," she chided with a flick of her wrist and an embarassed look. "Call me Anna."

"As… as you wish… And how should I call Sir Prince of Arendelle?"

Kristoff and Anna both heavily blushed at that. The latter cast her gaze down while the former stuttered an answer.

"Uh… Well… It's… I…"

The stranger chuckled lightly.

"I see… Not official yet, huh? I think I'll just call you Prince already."

"Or Kristoff. Probably Kristoff. Please call me Kristoff…"

He whispered that last part.

"Hey! What does that mean? Prince isn't good for you?" Anna pouted.

The stranger heartily laughed. He seemed a lot younger to the other two when he did.

"And what about you?" Kristoff asked.

"Oh." The stranger pondered his answer for a moment.

"You can call me Garret."

* * *

 **AN: Pfiou here we are. Thanks for reading!**

 **First Chapter out. Had this idea around for a while, and just wanted to get it out. Well there's nothing much on this chapter, it's just a presentation kind of thing.**

 **But still, I think there is a lot of things to tell. And if you recognize the title, you can probably guess a few themes I wish to explore with this fic.**

 **I was heavily inspired by Caleb Hyles' 'Let Them Come' video. A very interesting piece. Don't hesitate to check it out!**

 **Anyway, Garret is the OC as you have probably already guessed. I have made a drawing of him, in case you wanted to see what he looked like. Warning ! It can be a little bit spoilery as of now. I'm very excited with this character, but please tell me what you think of him (even if he hadn't had much screentime)!**

 **The link's on my profile page.**

 **If you're also following my Nier Story, don't worry, it'll be updated soon enough.**

 **Please consider reviewing, you can't imagine how helpful reviews can be :)**

 **Peace,**

 **CalAm.**


	2. Contact

**AN: Hey hey! Second Chapter here!**

 **Hope you'll enjoy.**

* * *

"Garret? That doesn't sound very… I mean it sounds like it's not from this region at all…" Anna remarked with a dumbfounded expression as they walked their way towards Arendelle.

"As am I," the name's owner explained. He immediately saw Anna's face light up and Kristoff wince. He shot the Ice Harvester a questioning look, only to receive an almost apologetic grimace that seemed to say one thing.

 _Get ready._

As fast as lightning, the Princess burst in front of the young man with glittering eyes, folded hands and a plethora of questions.

"Ohmygodwheredoyoucomefromisitfarisitexoticdon'ttellmeit'sFranceohmygodiloveFrancetheyhavethoselittlecroissantsthingsthey'redeliciousandalsotheysingbeautifulsongssandIhadthiscousinthat…"

Garret couldn't contain a surprised look as he was literally being drowned in words.

"Uh… Your Highn…"

"Or maybe Greece or Italy or…"

Anna suddenly inhaled, her traits bright as if she just solved a centuries-old mystery. "You're from that land of freedom or whatever? Always wanted to see it for myself… Some say they have gigantic carts without horses, but, like, how stupid is that…?"

"Uh, yeah, they're called tra…" Garret couldn't help but try, but without much surprise she didn't even hear him.

"Carts without horses! And what is it that drives the whole thing? Wind?"

He really didn't know what to do and simply stood there until his salvation came from Kristoff.

"Anna!"

The Princess turned around with a curious frown.

"What?"

"You're scaring him," the mountain man said while motioning to where she was standing.

She turned back to see a very uncomfortable looking Garret leaning away from her as she heavily invaded on his personal ground. She was perched on her toes and towering over him at that point.

"Oh," she took a few steps back and sheepishly played with her hands while casting her gaze down. "I'm sorry…"

"N…No problem…" answered a very astonished but slightly chuckling Garret while he brought himself up.

"So… where are you from?" Anna asked with a more civil demeanor as they began walking once again.

"I actually hail from the Kingdom of Britain. The Eastern part," he finally said.

"Bri'en?" Kristoff questioningly whispered as he leant towards Anna.

" _Britain_. That's England," she clarified with an even lower voice. "Explains the accent."

"Among other things," Garret said with just a tinge of amusement.

The couple jumped away from each other with heavy blushes. The man laughed and waved his palm.

"Don't worry, I have gotten used to being notified of my particular way of talking. No offense taken."

The group then just followed their track, falling in a very awkward silence that was broken by Kristoff a few minutes later.

"Excuse me," he began. Garret turned his head around to look at him with raised eyebrows. "I just realized. The way you fought… It was formidable… I mean, you managed to take out those bastards on your own…"

Garret brought his face back to the road.

"You helped me, though…" he sighed, as if he had been expecting such a question.

"I more or less distracted one of them. Wasn't much…"

"Yeah, Kristoff's right!" Anna added. "You just burst in and then you were like punch here punch there and they were all on the ground just in a few seconds. Pretty amazing if you ask me."

"This kind of ability is not very common…" Kristoff pensively said.

"Well, what can I say? I was always skilled for brawling… Had to protect my lunch from thugs and all…" Garret tentatively tried to explain, but his words felt hollow even to his own ears.

"Nah, doesn't just come down to that…" Kristoff thought out loud while scratching his chin.

"My whole… background… has given me some special abilities… I guess…"

"Does that background explain why you're leaning more on your right leg than your left?" Anna innocently asked.

Both Garret's and Kristoff's eyes suddenly widened.

"You're hurt?" Anna's companion panicked, already scolding himself for not paying enough attention. Garret hastily brought his palms up.

"No… No, I assure you. I'm fine, they didn't even graze me."

"Then what are you talking about Anna?"

"Um… It's just that we walked through a little mud earlier, and his footprints were not evenly deep in the soil. Figured that would be it…" she said in a gradually low voice.

Few times in his life had Garret been truly impressed by a simple observation.

"That's…" he collected his thoughts. "That eye of yours is one of the keenest I've had the chance to meet. You're actually the first to notice in a long time," he chuckled.

Anna lightly blushed at the praise while Kristoff obliviously raised an eyebrow.

"Well, turns out you're right. I do rely more on my right leg…"

"And that's because of something in particular?"

Garret's face fell at her question.

Elsa always said that both Anna and herself were too curious for the whole world's sake, and the young red-head was slowly understanding why that phrase wasn't only meant to be a little joke between the two of them.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to be rude," she immediately apologized.

Garret remained mute for a few seconds.

 _Well, she did notice. Maybe not all of it, but still..._

"Don't worry about it… It's… It was a requirement of my previous job…"

"Oh…" Anna didn't know if she was fine with him answering. His expression was one of sad nostalgia.

"What job asks of you to hurt your own leg?"

Anna turned around. This time it had been Kristoff's turn to speak.

"I never said I hurt it myself."

"What do you mean?"

The Princess responded in Garret's stead.

"The army."

She took a look at their savior to see his face wearing a shaky smile. He readjusted his cloak over his shoulders.

"Exactly."

Another silence and a tense atmosphere ensued. Sensing that it was mainly because of him, Garret tried to lighten the mood.

"So… You said you were the First Princess. Is your father the King?"

"Oh no," Anna answered with a knowing but small smile. "Arendelle's ruler is a Queen. I am her sister."

Garret seemed mildly surprised but eventually just nodded his understanding.

"You don't know much about our country do you?" Kristoff remarked.

"To be fair, I spend a lot of time on the road and don't really seem to get my mind around the fact that knowing a few things about where I am is probably for the best. And that's when I know where I am. I still have to work on that…"

"Feel free to ask anything you want," Anna suggested.

"Since you so kindly offer, while we're at it, what can you tell me about the Queen?"

"Well, she's a bit young so she still has to appropriately get the hang of a few things, but most people in the kingdom agree to say that she's doing marvelously well."

"Oh, age is not the most important factor in wisdom for royalty you know. If she's just as cunning as you, I'm sure she'll do fine. Our Queen is very young compared to how her father was when he had begun to rule, but she's a lot better at it than he was. Besides you have to define young… You said that she was your sister, so she couldn't be that much older than you. I'm guessing you're around twenty, so what does that make her? Thirty-five, forty at most?"

Anna snorted while Kristoff smirked.

"That's around it, yeah," the latter sarcastically said. Anna playfully jabbed his shoulder while she giggled.

Garret raised an eyebrow with a little smile.

"What, is she thirty? Doesn't change much…"

"She's twenty-two Garret," Anna clarified. Surprise replaced amusement on the red-head's face.

"What? But that's… It's…"

"I did say that she was young…"

"Yeah you said young but… Twenty-two? That's YOUNG!" the man tried to accentuate his point. "Accomplished rulers of that age are very rare!" Garret exclaimed.

"She does her best…" Anna fondly added. Garret whistled out of admiration. He then seemed to realize something and addressed Anna in a less than joyous tone.

"But that means that your parents…?"

Anna and Kristoff's traits visibly saddened.

"Gone. A long time ago," the Princess almost whispered.

"I'm sorry," Garret simply stated, his expression now one of sincere sympathy.

"Thank you," she responded with a grateful smile. She then immediately proceeded to regain her enthusiasm. "Anyway, back to Elsa!"

"Elsa?"

"My sister. That's her name."

"Oh. Understood."

"She's very caring of our people; you'd be surprised to see how much. Then there's of course her special condition…" she teased with a smirk. She loved to talk about her sister's powers.

"Special condition?"

"Well, she is nicknamed the Snow Queen…"

Her smile grew even bigger when she saw his eyes slightly narrow.

"I'm sorry, I hadn't realized that she was that type of person…"

"Oh no, silly you," she giggled. "Elsa has special powers. Ice magic or something like that. She can create and control snow and ice at will."

She certainly caught through her proud grin how Garret's eyes widened or how he lightly swayed at her statement. What she was mistaken about however, was the cause of such a stunned look.

* * *

 _ATCHUUUU_

"Bless you, your Majesty," Kai said.

Elsa wiped her nose with a handkerchief that immediately dissolved as soon as it left her hand.

"Thank you."

Upon seeing his Queen tiredly explore the pages of a dusty law book, the butler expressed his worries once again.

"Your Majesty, I deem it wise to consider giving yourself one or two more days to fully recover from this cold you're suffering," he insisted.

Elsa sighed.

"I really appreciate you concern, Kai, but I really need to get this done as soon as possible. Besides I'm already feeling well. It just tickles a little now and then."

Ever since she felt ill on Anna's birthday a dozen days before, Elsa hadn't been able to concentrate much on her tasks. And her sister pinning her to her bed for almost a week had made it incredibly hard for her to tackle some urgent matters.

As soon as she felt that she would be able to walk out of her room without summoning an entire army of little snowbabies, she had rushed (as in walked very awkwardly) to her working place. She had promised herself to go over all the laws that guided the kingdom's life for the last centuries, and had been horrified with some of the most ancient examples, swearing to abrogate them hastily. They weren't applied anymore, but a bit of solemnity never hurt anyone. The prospect of making her people as content as possible was a drive that she couldn't contain, and she wouldn't risk a single mistreatment.

The castle's library, her makeshift office, was also something that kept her duty as important as it was for her. She would always enter the immense gallery as soon as she could, and just stay there, going through several books in a few hours, reading adventure novels, learning new languages, checking on the world's state. It had been a shelter for her during the many years of complete solitude she went through, and thus constantly reminded her of how just the tiniest anchor could make a difference between order and chaos. Well, maybe not that extreme… But she wanted to be a beacon to her people as much as Anna and the library had been for her.

Elsa smiled fondly at the memory of a few precious stories she had read in the room –the German fairy tales and the Arthurian legend had been her favorites-, snapping back her attention to the many scrolls and volumes before her with a sigh.

She then heard a light cough and noticed that Kai was still standing beside her.

"Oh, excuse me, I completely forgot to answer," she hurriedly said while straightening her position on her seat. "Yes, yes of course the castle will be open at the celebration. Everyone is welcome. Anna wouldn't have it any other way at all," she chuckled.

The castle's celebrations had become a tradition at that point. Every small festival was an occasion in which the whole town gathered in the palace's outer court and Elsa gave a speech, often punctuated by Anna launching a few rounds of applause, much to her sister's dismay.

"We'll have the normal reception scheme. I'm thinking around five hundred plates. You can add more if you feel the need arises. Two main courses, one or two fruit baskets per table, and of course as much chocolate as possible, thank you."

Kai lightly bowed.

"Very well, Your Majesty."

Elsa smiled to the retreating silhouette of the kind man before bringing her eyes back to her desk.

A few hours later, the Queen stretched with a tired yawn, lifting her groggy eyes to the window before her while she rested her cheek on her palm. Anna had said that she wouldn't come back too late and it was now well past sunset. While her sister had already been away from home for much longer time periods, Elsa couldn't help but slightly worry, even though she knew Kristoff was with her. She probably should ask if she was back.

Well, she was done working for the day anyway.

Elsa exited the gigantic library, only to run into the castle's security advisor, who formally bowed as soon as they reached each other.

"Honor to you, Your Majesty," he saluted.

"Sir Jürden," she greeted back with her hands folded before her and a slight tilt of her head. "I was just coming to see you."

"The same could be said for me, my Queen. I wanted to request a quick audience," he said.

"I am listening."

"I am here for two things. First, I figured you would like to be notified that Princess Anna and Sir Kristoff have been spotted approaching the city..."

Elsa visibly relaxed.

"Wonderful."

"…and that they are accompanied by an unidentified man."

"Is... that concerning?"

"Not at the moment, they just seem to walk together. But I wouldn't advice against a little suspicion."

"Right. You said you had something else to tell me?"

"Yes, Milady. I know that you value your people the most, but we cannot completely disregard your own safety. I have personally made a selection of the city's finest officers…"

He interrupted himself when he saw Elsa lift her palm.

"If this is about the personal guard, you can save yourself the effort. I already told the Captain that I don't need it."

"With all due respect, Milady…"

"I am fully capable of defending myself."

"I am aware of that fact. However, for a person of your importance, not having a personal escort can be seen as a weakness by other countries. Especially when considering some aspects…"

Elsa raised an eyebrow.

"What aspects?"

The poor man gulped under her calm stare.

"Your Majesty, I pray that I will not appear as rude as I think I will be, but the fact that you are… a woman… has a lot to do with the opinion other kingdoms have of you. And in situations that will not allow you to use your powers, a personal guard would certainly be an asset for… appearances at least."

He brought his eyes to meet hers, and wasn't even surprised to find a cold gaze fixated on him.

"I hope you understand that this is absolutely not my own opinion. You know how highly I think of you. However, until they realize how misguided they are, we cannot ignore the fact that foreigners do not think like us…"

"I know, Sir Jürden."

He bowed again, this time out of shame.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty."

Elsa sighed.

"I'll… I'll give it a thought. But I'm not making any promises. You are dismissed."

"Very well. Thank you, Milady."

As the man walked away, Elsa tiredly massaged her temples.

"Your Majesty! Princess Anna is back!" one the maids hurriedly brought her the news.

"I'm coming," Elsa answered.

* * *

Garret had been strangely quiet for what remained of the trip, but seemed completely baffled by the city's picturesque charm once they reached it. The small town was buzzing with activity even at that quite late hour, with people going out admiring the stars and the aurora that was forecast for the night. A few children ran past the three travelers as they entered the main street.

"I am a frost dragon, and I will devour you!"

"You'll have to get past my legendary sword!" they heard them shout enthusiastically.

"You didn't tell me it was going to be this…" Garret began in a low voice.

"Loud?"

"… Lively. I was going to say lively."

"I guess we forgot," Anna happily chirped.

They quickly traversed the town and eventually reached the castle. Garret was getting a little too nervous for his own comfort. He stuck his hands in his pockets to hide their itchy shaking.

As soon as they passed the gates, Anna broke into a full sprint towards the building's main doors, jumping in the arms of a very pale but stunningly beautiful blonde woman that had just exited its hall... Garret stopped in his tracks when he caught her name.

"Oh Elsa, you can't imagine how happy I am to see you!" Anna almost cried, burying her face in her sister's hair.

"And I you, Anna," the latter replied, slightly surprised but not bothered at all by the sudden display of affection.

"You won't believe what happened today!" the sprightly Princess said as she stepped back, keeping her hands on Elsa's shoulders. The Queen covered her mouth and lightly laughed.

"What happened today?"

"Kristoff and I almost got kidnapped!" she finally said with a tone that was absolutely not matching the nature of the news she was breaking to her sister.

"Oh, real- wait, WHAT?"

"Yeah, we were just coming back from your castle and then there were these creepy guys with no teeth and they tied us to a tree and they talked about selling Kristoff and me and we were like OhMyGod how do we get out of this…"

Anna was interrupted by her sister's panicked look.

"Are you being serious?"

"Well, yeah," Anna shrugged.

"How did you…"

"It's thanks to Mister Hero just right there," Anna excitedly pointed towards where Garret was shifting awkwardly on his spot next to Kristoff, just down the stairs. "He kicked their butts and rescued us."

"He saved you?" Elsa asked in a low voice. Her sister nodded and was almost immediately brought into a fierce hug by the Queen.

Elsa's eyes, at first disbelievingly wide, slowly began to water, and the temperature ever so slightly dropped around her. Garret wavered.

 _Anna hadn't been joking._

"I almost lost you…" the Queen whimpered.

"But everything's okay now, sis'," Anna soothed.

"And what about the kidnappers?"

"They're all unconscious, tied to a tree. He took their weapons and assured that they would be out cold for a few days without exterior care," Anna answered. "We can send some guys to collect them as soon as you want."

The two broke apart a few moments later. The Queen then quickly checked up on Kristoff, enveloping him too in a relieved hug, before turning her attention to the mysterious stranger.

The latter was avoiding her direct gaze as much as possible, but seemed to relax when he saw that she was giving him the warmest smile he had ever seen. She slowly walked until she was just two feet away from him and very regally bowed.

"I cannot thank you enough for the service you've done for my family and for my kingdom. Your deed will not be forgotten, I assure you of it, Sir…"

"G… Garret, Your Majesty."

The Queen's eyes lit up in the same fashion her sister's did a few hours before, her mouth imperceptibly contorting into a small excited grin. She didn't know why, but she felt a lot lighter than usual.

"Oh, you're British, aren't you?"

The man was now more impressed than intimidated.

"I am."

"Well, Sir Garret, in order for me to express my deepest gratitude, I will give you whatever you wish for. Name your reward, and it shall be yours," Elsa stated proudly.

Garret was finding it increasingly harder to focus. Her big glittering navy-blue eyes not leaving his were certainly not helping. He shook his head and lifted his hands.

"Milady, it is an honor. But I already told your sister that I don't ask for a reward. I wouldn't consider myself human if I didn't help someone in such a delicate situation. I simply did what I had to do."

He almost took his sentence back when he saw the Queen's face slightly fall in disappointment.

"Don't belittle yourself, buddy," Kristoff said with a knowing grin. "You deserve at least a little something."

"I assure you, I am fine."

"You know what?" Anna barged into the conversation. "I think he's not going to hear anything of it for now. So, Garret, I suggest that you stay here for the next few days; you could attend the Summer celebration with us while we think of something?"

Elsa happily clasped her hands.

"That is actually a wonderful idea. What do you say, Sir Garret?"

"I… Uh…"

 _Damn those eyes._

"I'll… consider the offer. But please Milady, just call me Garret."

"Very well, Garret. Of course, we would be happy to provide you with the necessary accommodation," Elsa added as she pointed towards the palace.

 _Not a good idea to stay that close for too long,_ he thought as he tried as much as he could to dig his fists further into his pockets. He was feeling much more comfortable around her than when he was introduced, but the itchy sensation in his hands was becoming more and more noticeable.

"Oh, that's very kind of you, but I think I'll just take a room at the inn. I don't want to intrude."

"You sure about that?" Anna pouted.

"Don't worry Princess, I promise to come as soon as I can."

"Or I can come to fetch you! I'll show you around!" she squeaked.

"She's gonna do it, you know," Kristoff smirked.

"Well, you can't just say no to her, isn't it?" Garret sighed with a smile.

"No. No you can't."

The men laughed when they felt Anna's tiny hands angrily slap their shoulders. Garret then quickly bid his farewell and walked towards the castle's gates. Elsa's gaze followed the retreating man until he disappeared while Anna and Kristoff entered the main hall.

He had seemed very kind at first, but she had started to feel a very strange sensation when staring into his eyes. She brought her palms up and sighed.

The last time her fingers had started emitting steam on their own had been a long time ago. But then again, that day was the first real emotional rush she had had in a year.

She finally shook her head and joined the couple inside, dissolving the forming mist as she walked.

* * *

Garret let himself fall with a grunt on a chair in the middle of the room he had rented. That day was the first time he had fought in a while, but he had managed to keep everything under control without much problem. However, his mind was occupied with other thoughts.

 _We're at least two. And she's just a walk away from here._

As much as discovering that she had powers was a slap to the face, the fact that she didn't seem bothered by them was what really intrigued him.

He didn't know whether he wanted to tell her or not. She was the first he had ever met. And if she had reacted the same as himself, she was probably also aware that something was off.

The man took his left hand out of his pocket and examined the tiny ice crystals protruding from its back.

This was going to be a _lot_ more complicated than he initially thought.

* * *

 **AN: Hey hey! Second Chapter out!**

 **Thanks for reading! This one is just a follow-up to the previous chapter (well, duh) in terms of exposition. We should get down to business in the next one.**

 **Please consider reviewing to point out anything you think I should look into, be it positive or negative! Thanks in advance!**

 **Also, about the title, I just realized that a Destiny Rifle was named just like that... Yay.**

 **Just so that it's clear, it comes from Tolstoy, a quote that is pretty easy to find. So... yeah.**

 **Now onto last chapter's reviews:**

 **LuanaA.R: Definitely didn't expect to receive a review in Portuguese, but thank you nonetheless for your kind words! I'll do my best.**

 **NekoElder: Thanks for the kind words. And nice to see that you noticed! Yeah, most Frozen OC pairings use the fire power card, which is very interesting. But I feel like there can be more to be told with powers that are similar in their essence but with different ways of using them (we'll expand on that later on). And while I love Jack Frost, well, he's an immortal demi-god who looks fifteen. Not fun to write about IMHO. Anyway, thanks again!**

 **And with that, I'll see you next time!**

 **Peace,**

 **CalAm.**


	3. Soldier

**AN: Hey Hey!**

 **Third Chapter here. Well, this is a long one. Don't think I'll keep them this long from now on.**

 **Also, little warning: this story will explore some themes related to war. I don't think I'll ever cross the M rating barrier, but if I ever feel something's really dark, I'll just tell you in the AN.**

 **Nothing notable in this one though :)**

 **Hope you'll enjoy.**

* * *

 _A field._

 _A crowd._

 _A deafening noise._

 _A single voice._

 _Make me proud._

 _They will yield._

Garret suddenly awoke with a start, his bulging eyes not able to see much in the heavy obscurity the room was plunged into. The very first thing he did was to quickly check his arms for any icy protuberances. When he was certain there weren't any, he released a sigh. Sweat had never been a problem for the man; it was quite the opposite actually, as his body never got hot enough for water to be necessary in order to cool it. However, and because Mother Nature was such a nice gal, he had his own –very annoying- version. During periods of extreme stress, he was always bothered by the temperature lowering around him and he became used to finding little frozen droplets in his immediate surroundings. He had therefore developed quite a reflex, always searching the area to melt those little witnesses of his mental state after intense experiences.

So, he sat up and immediately began to thoroughly examine the mattress he had just spent his night on. He found a few of said droplets and got rid of them right away. He then took a look outside to see the sun peek at the horizon, its first light dawning on Arendelle's bay.

"Hello there," he uselessly greeted. A little habit he had unwillingly inherited from his mother.

He brought his hands to his face and stayed motionless, breathing steadily. A few moments later, he let his arms fall on his knees.

"… and may you watch over me for another day," he finished what he had started in his thoughts, smacking his legs while getting up.

The man quickly washed himself and put on his clothes while making sure not to forget his two lucky charms. He then made his way downstairs, only to be welcomed by the innkeeper -a plump man with kind eyes and a very impressive beard.

"Good morning, lad."

"Hello," Garret answered while taking a seat on a simple stool near the counter.

"Oh, you're looking a lot better than yesterday. Told you some sleep would help."

Garret simply smiled as he recalled his uneasy expression when he had entered the inn the previous evening and ordered a room in a hurry. He had been too preoccupied with his hands to really worry about his looks and had probably been a sore sight at the time.

"Yeah. It's been several days since the last time I slept in a real bed."

The innkeeper shot him a quizzical look but didn't insist much.

"You're up pretty early, though…" he said. "I was certain someone as tired as you were would have slept a few more hours at least."

"Always woke up with the Sun. Always will."

"Ah, how poetic… You're being quite the philosopher. Is that something that helps you think through the mysteries of life?"

Garret lightly laughed.

"Exactly as you say."

The kind man shrugged at that. "Anyway. Feeling hungry?"

"Starving, actually. What do you have for me?"

"I could scramble some eggs if you want."

"Aye, that sounds good."

"How many? Two, three?"

Garret raised an eyebrow.

"How big are they?" he asked.

The man quickly disappeared in the kitchen to retrieve a sample. Garret chuckled when he caught sight of it.

"Do I look like a kid to you? Make it eight of those. With some bread and milk please."

The innkeeper heartily laughed.

"Starving you are. If only every customer ate like you… You'd never hear of unhappy innkeepers ever again!"

"Strangely enough, I always hear that when I order food," Garret added with a smile.

Moments later, he was devouring his meal under the very amused stare of the bearded man. The latter was busying himself with cleaning some tankards when he spoke.

"So, I guess you're here for the Summer celebration, isn't it?"

Garret stopped stuffing things in his mouth and blinked a few times.

 _Oh yeah, they talked about something like that yesterday._

He swallowed with difficulty and readied his answer.

"Um, to be honest I'm just wandering around. But I heard that there might something interesting to witness in the region at the moment."

"Guess 'interesting' is one way to call it," the innkeeper snorted. "Does that mean you're attending?"

"I think so," Garret shrugged. He took another mouthful of eggs before resuming. "A couple weeks back, I landed in a little kingdom; Corona. Seems like I arrived one day too late to participate in what they called the… Lanterns' Fest…?" He tried to remember the name. "The Night Of–Something that had to do with lanterns. They looked pretty excited about it, must have been pretty. So I guess I have to compensate for that."

"I'm quite positive you won't be disappointed," the inn's owner affirmed.

"What is this festival for?" Garret asked while taking a long swig from his mug.

"We're celebrating the Great Thaw for the first time."

Garret's face took a questioning expression that the bearded man caught over the tankard that was being held in front of him.

"You should probably know more about where you spend your nights, lad…" he said with a little grin.

Garret put down the mug.

"I also hear that a lot…"

"Anyway, it may come as a bit shocking to you, but our Queen has ice powers…"

 _Oh believe me, I noticed._

Garret waited for him to continue, but he saw the man fidgeting on his spot in anticipation of his reaction. The red-head simply motioned for him to go on, causing a surprised look to creep up on the kind innkeeper's features.

"Well, that's the best I've ever seen anyone take the news."

"I'm very level-headed."

"If you say so…" The innkeeper kept an eyebrow raised. "Anyhow, ice powers… Yes, and no one was aware she even had them before her coronation last year."

That got Garret's full attention.

"And on that night, without any warning, the Queen fled and left the kingdom to freeze. The whole city was brought down and even the water solidified; the boats were immobilized."

 _Okay, I definitely didn't expect that,_ Garret thought.

"We still don't know why or how, but we are sure of one thing: she didn't do it on purpose."

Garret snapped out of his short-lived torpor.

"And why's that?"

"Because a few days later, she came back and brought summer with her. I'm not familiar with all the details, but apparently it was Princess Anna and Sir Kristoff that sought after her the whole time."

Apparently Garret's thinking was showing on his face.

"Not so level-headed now, eh," the bearded man said smugly.

"I… I guess not…" Garret answered. "That's quite a tough trial to go through, though... Must have been hard for them."

"It was. But our Princesses are tougher to put down," he said, his eyes shining with pride.

Garret lightly smiled at that. He sighed, put the tankard on the counter and took his pouch out from his pocket, before seeing the innkeeper's palm wave before him.

"Breakfast is included in the room's price."

"You sure about that? I probably ate enough for three…"

"Don't make me regret saying it," the man replied with a grin.

Garret smiled again.

"Thanks for the meal."

The red-head saluted and got out of the inn. He never felt cold, but wind was something that could become pretty annoying with a cloak, so he brought his closer to his body as soon as he heard the door's lock behind him. He made a few steps and observed the city's port wake up, several boats leaving the shallow waters, heading towards their preferred fishing grounds.

The morning air was something that always made Garret relax. Coupled with the peace and quiet the early hour usually inferred, he had come to find dawn to be the ideal time to take a walk. Right now, he had quite a few things to process, and walking had always helped him clear his mind.

So, he walked. And cleared his mind.

 _She froze the entire kingdom. And melted all of the ice afterwards. Alone._

Garret didn't know whether to be impressed or scared with that particular piece of information. In any case, if it were to be true –and he couldn't see why it wouldn't be- she was a lot more powerful than he was; that much was clear.

 _Probably explains how she masters them so easily_ , he said to himself as he stopped in front of a giant frozen fountain, its ice clear as if it was still running water. He brought his hand to touch the cold structure, marveling at its flawless crystals. No ice he had ever seen matched their transparency, their solidity. Even the best of his own creations paled in comparison. Garret lightly chuckled.

 _Not a single imperfection._ _And here I thought I was being special._

Releasing a heavy sigh, the man then suddenly caught a glimpse of an arrow flying at the other end of the street, near the castle's lower court. He panicked at first, but quickly calmed down when he saw that it had landed on a practice target.

 _Trainees_ , he thought, smirking at his own reaction. He stopped to think for a few seconds.

 _Well, wouldn't hurt to take a look._

* * *

Elsa was usually up quite early, but very rarely did she roam the palace's alleyways at that hour.

That lingering sensation in her hands had made it very difficult to sleep peacefully. They weren't hurting, but they felt odd. A bothersome type of odd; they felt too _warm_. Anna had said that they seemed as cold as usual to her, but the feeling hadn't left her limbs for the entire night.

She guessed that learning that her sister and her future brother-in-law had practically been taken away the day before was something that she still had to wrap her psyche around, making her body react consequently. But a little voice in the back of her mind also wondered if it had something to do with the man that had saved Anna and Kristoff.

 _Garret, was it?_

After Anna had narrated the twists and turns of their trip, she figured she'd have a few questions for the man. She also made sure she was to be notified if he left the city.

 _Well, that's for later._

Not really knowing what to do, she waited for dawn to make her way towards the library once again. For the second time in two days, she almost bumped with a start into the closest person the kingdom had to a chief military officer.

"Sir Jürden!" she shrieked in surprise. The man also seemed quite startled at first but was quick to regain his composure. He formally greeted her, as per usual.

"Excuse me, Milady. I didn't see you arrive. I hardly ever meet anyone on the way to the training grounds when it is this early in the morning, so I tend to be less alert."

Elsa took a few seconds to steady her breath, placing her hand over her chest. She slowly managed to cool her racing heart and greet the man back.

"Please, don't apologize. It was but a mere accident," she said while waving her hand.

Jürden lightly bowed his head and continued on his track.

"While you're here…" he heard his Queen call back. He turned around immediately.

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"I would like you to assign a few people for Anna and Kristoff's protection. I don't want them to be alone at any given time. Not until we have this situation sorted out."

"Very well."

"And about those fiends Sir Garret subdued…"

"I sent a detachment as soon as I received the orders," the man immediately replied. "They were found at the exact same location we were told, unconscious and completely unable to move had they emerged. They are currently jailed downstairs. We'll interrogate them when they wake up, and they'll be ready for trial."

"Good."

This was going to be the first time Elsa would have to judge actual criminals in her Court. She usually was just summoned to settle benign conflicts –matters of inheritance and land ownership most of the time.

"Was there something else?"

Elsa was silent for a second.

"Do you mind if I accompany you? I would like to attend this morning's session."

Jürden was a bit taken aback, but eventually nodded. That was definitely a first, but he guessed she didn't have much to do.

They walked their way to the little square just behind the stables that hosted the current and future city's guards' training grounds and barracks, getting quite a view over the location from the top of the stairs that led down from the castle.

The place was quite simple in its design, with two large gates giving access to the town's main avenue, and walls that towered over several buildings built out of hard grey stone and wooden logs. Upon arriving, they saw a few recruits honing their skills at bows and crossbows by firing at round targets, as well as a little group of trainees practicing their swordsmanship on the far right of the surprisingly clean surface.

Everything seemed normal to Jürden. Everything, except for the red-headed man walking on the side with his hands folded behind his back.

* * *

Garret smiled as he strode through the lines of young men trading blows and readying their shots. The scene brought back some memories. They were already up at that hour, but it didn't surprise him. He had himself been forced to wake up much earlier during his schooling years.

He however stopped when he noticed one of the trainees grabbing an arrow. He slowly approached him.

"Umm, excuse me?" he began, trying to suppress a smile.

The young man suspiciously eyed him. He probably was around twenty.

"What do you want?"

"It's just… What is it with the quiver?" Garret asked, hardly containing a chuckle.

"I draw the arrows from it."

"That's what you do with it. The question is: why is it strapped to your back?"

"Why do you even ask?" the recruit fired with narrowed eyes.

Garret raised an eyebrow with a smug grin. He quickly scanned the area around him and found some crates sitting back against a corner not far from where he stood. He dragged one with his right foot and left it just in front of the still unmoving young man before crossing his arms.

"What's your name?"

The latter hesitated for a moment. "Stern."

"Okay, Stern. I'm Garret. Now, try to jump over this."

The trainee didn't budge.

"I may be young, but I'm not weak enough to trip over something like that. Don't go all 'I'm a veteran' when you're just a few years older. Besides, why would I even listen to you? I don't know you…"

Garret shrugged. "Let's just say that I'm a nice guy who wants to help."

He then saw a few others gather behind their comrade.

"Trouble, Stern?"

"Nope, he's just getting a lesson," Garret explained, lifting his hands. "You too," he added while pointing towards another recruit amongst the small crowd who had a back-tied quiver.

Stern slowly neared the crate, his eyes not leaving Garret's. He then pushed on his legs for a quick jump and he landed smoothly on the other side. He brought his eyes back up to the red-head's face, only to find it contorted into an amused smile.

"What are you grinning at? I did it."

Garret didn't speak; he just motioned with his head to the ground while raising an eyebrow. Stern followed his gaze, and was quite surprised to see a dozen arrows scattered on the cold stone. He quickly checked his quiver, and found himself looking into an empty little wooden box.

"And that…" Garret's voice started. "… is why you always put your quiver near your hip. Preferably on your guiding hand's side. Try it again."

Stern seemed a bit ashamed, and he surely felt heat burning up his cheeks. He heard a few whispers behind him, but he –pretty reluctantly- switched his configuration and approached the crate once again. He did as he was asked and jumped, and this time not a single arrow left the container. Garret was now wearing a more sympathetic expression.

"See? This is extremely helpful if you ever have to cross hard terrain, just like the mountains up there. Also, you never pull on the string for more than a few seconds at a time –don't you raise your eyebrows at me, I saw you do it earlier. You'll tire your arms pretty quickly that way, and your aim becomes shaky a lot faster than you might think."

Stern and all his mates nodded. Garret then redirected his gaze towards another trainee.

"You. You were working on your stationary fire, weren't you?"

The poor kid –he seemed a little younger than the others, probably eighteen- gulped and brought his bow closer to his chest. He then feverishly nodded.

 _At least his quiver's in the right place._

"Right. Can you show me how you fire three arrows in a row as quickly as you can?"

The boy advanced with shaking legs and readied his practice weapon, spreading his knees. He then unleashed three projectiles at a respectable speed. The first hit near the center mark; the second was a little more deviated but still close enough to be considered acceptable. However, the last had landed near the targets' outer circle's limit. The boy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not bad," Garret complimented. "Not bad at all. Your name?"

"A… Argod, Sir."

"You did pretty well, Argod," the red-head continued as he stood near him. He was towering over the poor young man, but his eyes held a caring tint that was caught by every recruit present. He then lifted a single finger. "But! You could do better."

Garret extended his hand in front of him. "May I?"

The boy handed him his bow and three arrows with trembling hands.

"I didn't realize I looked this scary…" Garret chuckled. Argod heavily blushed and stepped back, receiving a complicit tap on the shoulder and some cheers from his friends.

"He's just very shy, Sir," one of them explained.

"Hmm, must be it. Anyway, when you know you're not going to move, you'd rather not stay on your feet."

He brought himself down on his right knee as he talked, taking a few looks here and there to see quite an assembly circling around him, intently watching his moves. He then planted two of the arrows in the ground right next to him, grinning when he saw some stares turn confused.

"They are easier to reach this way. Makes handling them faster and thus increases your firing rate."

To prove his point, he slowly concentrated, waiting for his pulse to resonate in his ears. He waited a few seconds for it to lower enough, and as soon as he felt that he could get it in between two heartbeats, he shot the first arrow. Before the projectile's head even reached its target, Garret's hand had already flown back, and quickly came to pull on the bow's string. Before anyone had time to process anything, three wooden pieces were sticking out from the target's center.

Garret dusted his pants as well as the hem of his cloak and handed back the training bow to its owner with a calm demeanor.

"I know that you'll hardly ever use bows. But just in case, that's how you conciliate both speed and accuracy."

A loud 'Wow' was heard all over the crowd, and all the trainees excitedly began to cheer. A few of them went to examine the target as if to verify that the arrows embedded in the leathered surface were not fake, while another group immediately approached Garret with shining eyes. He hardly managed to escape a few moments later by sending them to try out those shots themselves.

He lightly smiled as he scolded himself for being such a showoff, but he couldn't resist it. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a very melodious voice.

"That was quite an impressive display."

He violently brought his eyes up to see Elsa going through the last steps of the stairs coming down from the castle. She was not alone however. A man in a suit that was easily a few decades their elder was walking beside her.

"Good morning, Sir Garret," she softly said. The red-head winced at her formality.

"Y... Your Majesty," he awkwardly bowed. She returned the gesture with a lot more grace and a contained giggle, while her escort extended a hand.

"Sir Garret, this is Sir Jürden. He is my main councilor concerning security matters and the kingdom's highest ranking officer. Sir Jürden, this is Sir Garret, and I'm sure you already know who he is."

Garret accepted the offered handshake, slightly annoyed by how abundantly the word 'Sir' had been used in Elsa's last phrase.

"My pleasure," he said.

"Likewise. We really appreciate you handling those bandits. We will be forever in your debt."

"Ah, pay it no mind. I'm just happy I helped."

Jürden lightly tilted his head to excuse himself and immediately went ahead to supervise the training as he usually did.

"So… I see that you fancy yourself a teacher," Elsa chortled as soon as he was out of earshot.

"Uh yeah, you saw that…" Garret nervously scratched the back of his head. "Just gave them a bit of advice. I really shouldn't have; they probably would have learned all of it a little later."

Elsa lightly smiled while taking a look at the small forming regiment before her.

"They're doing fine," she heard Garret say. "And they're still young. Still have plenty of time to grow. I just hope they'll never have to actually put what they learned to use."

Elsa silently shared his feeling. Unfortunately, she knew the world was not as optimistic, but she guessed she couldn't do much but pray for the better.

"It seems the military life suited you, then?" she asked. Garret sighed.

"Princess Anna told you?"

"Everything she could," Elsa chuckled.

Garret collected his thoughts. "Well, I guess. My entire family signed up in the army, you know? My father, his father, and his father before him… They were all officers."

"And you?"

"Oh, no, not me. I never actually reached such high rankings."

Garret's gaze turned a little sad, but Elsa also noticed a slight part of irony, as if he was making fun of himself.

"I was just a soldier."

They then both fell into a lingering silence.

A thought suddenly occurred to Elsa. However, at the exact same time she opened her mouth to speak again, Argod appeared out of nowhere next to Garret, lightly tugging on the ride side of his cloak with a small crossbow hanging from his other hand.

"S…Sir?"

Garret slightly crouched down. It felt a lot like he was talking to a ten-year-old and not to a near fully-grown adult, but he dismissed the thought.

"Yes?"

"It's… Because… You showed us… And…" Argod started. He stopped, taking his time to calm his breath, and made another attempt. "I don't know why, but I just can't ever seem to get this thing to fire straight. I thought you might tell me what's wrong?"

"Your aim definitely looked fine to me… Are you sure it's not the crossbow's fault?" Garret confusedly asked.

The boy shrugged to signify that he wasn't. The red-head carefully took the weapon from his hands and slowly searched for any anomaly he could detect, with Elsa silently watching him. All crossbows were far from being similar in construction, but the base was pretty much the same. After a while, he finally saw what he thought caused the odd firing and muttered an audible 'Ah' and a little chuckle. He lowered the tool on the ground and reached inside his cloak. Elsa's eyes slightly widened when he brought out what looked like a medium sized ceremonial knife. The ornate instrument was polished and clean, its cold blade softly reflecting the sun's rays. She discerned a very unusual seal etched into its wooden grip, just under its small guard; sprawling in diamond-shaped cords, it held in its center three golden crowns surrounded by a red cotton belt. Feeling the oddest sense of déjà-vu, the Queen resisted the urge to take it from his hands and examine the blade more closely. She already had seen such a symbol somewhere else, but she just couldn't remember where or when.

Garret slowly reached inside the crossbow's insides with the knife's tip, and turned it around a few times. A tiny metallic sound was heard when a screw fell on the ground, the red-head bending over to grab it.

"This is what was making you go nuts. Not a good idea to fire two bolts at the same time," he said with an amused tone as Argod blushed once again and embarrassedly scratched his chin.

Garret carefully placed the screw back in place and flipped the knife in his hand, turning its blade towards the sky. He abruptly gave little blows using the bottom of the grip until he heard a little click. He then returned the weapon to Argod with a small smile.

"Done."

The boy bowed and profusely thanked him before going back to his comrades. Garret whirled his head back towards Elsa.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. Were you going to say something?"

Elsa waited a few seconds before she answered.

"Yes, actually. Would you please walk with me?"

Garret nodded and closely followed her outside the barracks and into the city's main street. Soon enough, they reached the fountain he had stopped by earlier. The man quickly threw a glance towards his hands; no ice block to be seen. For now.

He then saw Elsa graze the ice she had produced with her fingers. Her expression was unreadable.

"It may come as redundant to you, but I really need you to know how grateful I am for what you did yesterday," she ushered.

"I… I really don't know what to say, Your Majesty. I would have done that for anyone who was in the same dire position."

Elsa smiled.

"You know, a lot of people think that Anna is a little too careless for a Princess when they meet her for the first time…" she started.

Garret chuckled at that. "I kind of understand why they would say that, but I definitely saw that she was a lot smarter than what they may give her credit for."

"Certainly," the Queen continued. "Especially her memory. She remembers pretty much everything that happens before her with incredible precision. And yesterday, while she was telling me about how you rescued her, a little detail highly intrigued me."

Elsa's stare had slowly turned grave as she spoke, and Garret was becoming increasingly anxious.

 _I don't like how those eyes are looking right now._

"She very clearly recalled that Kristoff was freed by an arrow that cut down his ties… But, as far as she remembered, you had no bow with you."

 _Oh._

"Care to explain?"

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid! Should have seen it coming…_

He lifted his eyes to see Elsa sitting on the fountain's edge with her arms crossed, quietly trying to decipher his expression with her glare. He lowered his gaze to her feet, and only then did he remark that her shoes were shining in quite an unusual fashion.

 _They're made of ice? Wha -The entire dress?! AND THIS IS THE MOMENT YOU CHOSE TO NOTICE?!_

Garret shook his head and coughed a few times. His heart was pounding hard against his chest.

 _Maybe you should tell her?_

He brought his eyes to meet hers once again. "It's…"

 _Okay, just tell her. With a bit of luck, she won't faint and you won't look like you just murdered the Queen._

"It… It was broken during the fight. Beyond fixing… I just threw it," he finally said, disgusted at himself.

Elsa did not move, settling for a less abrasive stare as she kept insistently scanning Garret's face. She had expected two different reactions beforehand: she thought he would either be completely taken aback and revolted at her accusations or try to kill her. In both cases she would have had everything under control. But now that he almost looked sheepish, she was stuck in a rut. Her traits slightly softened. Normally, she would have been a lot more aggressive, but the fact that he refused to sleep in the castle and that he had another weapon the entire time and didn't make use of it were enough proof that he was not ill willed.

But she had to make things clear.

"I'm sorry I appeared a bit ruthless here, but I really had to make sure you were no danger… "

Garret breathed a sigh of relief. "I understand."

"Just a little warning though. I am sure you know of my powers," she added while playing with a snowflake in between her fingers. Garret looked like he was trying to keep his eyes from widening. "We don't usually have many strangers in our city. If I ever discover that you intend on harming anyone here…"

"… I think I got the picture," the man completed.

He took a few seconds to think, steeled himself, and made a few steps back. He didn't know why he suddenly felt the urge to do what he was going to do, but the idea of the Queen being suspicious of him bothered him a little too much.

Elsa's eyes followed him, and her confusion didn't get any better when he crouched down on one knee. He then brought that same knife she had seen earlier in front of his heart in a reverse grip, its tip pointing towards the ground, while his other hand covered the soft end of the tool's pommel. He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again, his face had gained a very serious expression. Elsa almost gasped when she caught a blue sparkle flash in his otherwise light green eyes. That position, that knife, that seal…

 _I read about something like this,_ she thought, her mind filled with both incomprehension and exasperation. _Why can't I remember?_

"I hereby swear…" Garret started.

 _Wait. Is he…?_

"… that I, Garret of Linton, never have brought and never will bring harm to any inhabitant of this land. If I ever betray this promise, let Infortune and Despair follow my every move for my entire life. _Auspicium Melioris Aevi_."

The man then hit his chest once with the flat part of the knife. He slowly got up, leaving an utterly dumbfounded expression on Elsa's features.

"That…" she muttered as she brought a hand to her chest in a useless attempt to calm her racing heart. "W… was… that an oath?"

Garret lifted an eyebrow. "Yes," he simply answered.

"But… but why?"

Elsa knew how important oaths had become during the last centuries in Western Europe, and she certainly never imagined that she would receive one someday.

"You wanted to make sure I wouldn't hurt anyone out here. Well, now you're sure," he clarified with an almost casual tone.

Elsa was at a complete loss of words. She never would have guessed he'd go that far. It was quite a strange sensation actually. Both humbling and a little scary.

She suddenly felt very self-conscious under Garret's tranquil stare when remembering her reaction and couldn't hide a blush. She hadn't stammered like that in a long time…

She abruptly brought her hands to her face, shaking it a bit until she felt that her cheeks had turned back to their usual pale color. Standing up to her feet, she then gave Garret a soft smile, one that was much more sincere than the ones he had been receiving since they ran into one another several minutes earlier.

"I know how much of a commitment that is. Thank you, Garret. Truly."

Garret returned the gesture with a slight bow. He was in turn about to speak when they both heard Anna's voice call out from afar. They both turned their heads in time to catch the very strange sight of the Princess of Arendelle running towards them (more like skipping actually) while trying to put on her left shoe, her tiara jumping sideways in front of her face with each hop. Kristoff was following behind at a more normal pace with his arm hugging a pretty large reindeer that carried a waving snowman. Two guards were walking beside him.

 _Okay, making ice move with such precision at a distance?_ _She is definitely more powerful than I am,_ Garret thought, hardly believing what his eyes were showing him.

Anna swiftly jumped in her sister's arms as soon as she reached her.

"Good morning, sis'!"

"Hello, Anna," the latter amusedly greeted.

When she was finished with Elsa, the Princess whirled around and brought a very surprised Garret into another hug.

"Good morning, Garret!"

"H… Hi, A… Anna…" he awkwardly stuttered as she released him. Such familiarity was very unsettling for him. "Hey, Kristoff."

"How you doing, bud? Meet Sven. He's been putting up with me since I was a kid. Aaaaaaand…"

"And I am Olaf!" Garret heard a little voice chirp right under him. He then felt a little weight on his right leg. Casting his gaze down, he was met by the sight of that same snowman attached to him. "Hey!"

"Umm… Is everyone just going to sit there while a snowman is glued to me? Your Majesty, is this your doing?"

Elsa hid her mouth with her hand and lightly laughed. "I'm afraid not. Well, I guess it is to an extent, but Olaf has been completely independent from my own will since I created him."

Garret didn't know if he would be able to take that one as casually as everything else. He almost dropped on his knees right there and then.

 _She can create… life?_

Anna suddenly grabbed his arm, dragging him towards the city's main plaza.

"Come on, G! I owe you a tour. See you later, Elsa!"

The Queen waved her hand as they left. However, just before she began to walk back to the castle, she threw one last fleeting glance at the red-head's back while slowly caressing her lightly steaming hands.

* * *

The day passed in a blur for Elsa. The sheer quantity of cases she had to take care of would have already discouraged most of her peers, but she always thought that work would make her days feel shorter, especially when Anna and Kristoff weren't around. When she felt the chore had become too boring to bear, she decided to spend a few hours searching the library for something that would remind her of that seal, releasing a heavy sigh when she realized it meant going through an entire aisle.

After flipping through a lot more pages than she could count, she was on the verge of abandoning when she noticed a very banal looking volume sitting at the end of the shelf she was currently examining.

"Okay, this is the last one for today," she murmured while dusting its thick cover. "'Signs and Signatures: Grand Orders of Europe'. Huh… must be pretty old."

As soon as she opened the front page, she suddenly felt extremely happy she didn't just leave in frustration. There, among a few others, laid the exact same seal she couldn't seem to identify, even though the colors had faded with time compared to its real-life wooden counterpart. She immediately jumped to the associated page and started reading in a hurry.

"'This seal is a token given during the First Bath to any future member of The Royal Order of Saint George. It can be etched on an object of the candidate's choice, or, following the traditional procedure, engraved into the pommel of the ceremonial dagger associated with that particular candidate's accolade'."

 _Accolade?_ she interrupted herself. Where did she already hear that word?

"'It is a symbol of the newly acquired social status for the future member of the Order. Upon mere presentation, the owner is immune to any form of arrest and incarceration by the British forces of law, and has the highest priority for Royal audiences'." Elsa continued. "'It also allows him or her to take command of any given military regimen of less than fifty men, holding the responsibility of their actions as their own. The seal however doesn't signify the member's rank in said Order.'" The page stopped there without giving any other information. She read it again just in case she had missed out on something before lowering the heavy volume in disappointment. Nothing more.

There was however one little snippet that rang a bell, and she suddenly snapped her head towards another book she had browsed sooner. She hurriedly went back to a particular page, and there she found it.

"Ah, there it is! Grand Royal Order of Saint George," she said as she stood up in pure excitement.

"'An evolution of the Grand Order of the Bath," she read. "This organization is a British order of knighthood that rewards senior military officers or lower ranked soldiers that distinguished themselves with a remarkable feat of arms. The members are known as the Knight Commanders of Britain, and are amongst the most respected people in the military hierarchy. They are directly following the Sovereign's orders, who was, at its creation, King George I."

Elsa slowly let herself slump back on her chair with widening eyes, the book falling in an almost comical way on the table in front of her.

 _He's a Knight? An actual Knight?_ she thought while quickly putting back a strand of hair behind her ear.

She couldn't believe it. She had threatened one of the most important officers of the British army. And he had let her go with it.

He even seemed _kind_ to her.

 _Then again, he didn't tell me who he was. Well, he sort of did… but not entirely. Or maybe he expected me to know once I saw the seal? My God, what if he reports back…_

Her thoughts raced in her mind while she paced in the room, biting her right thumb's nail and hugging herself closely with her left arm.

She had always figured the real life knights she read about were big and bearded brutes with suits, or noble middle aged men in shining armor.

Not this young. Not… not this _handsome_.

Her anxious thinking was interrupted by Kai opening the library's door and peeking inside.

"Milady, Princess Anna is back. She requested both dinner and your presence."

"I… I'm coming right away."

She lightly tapped both her cheeks with her palms.

 _Okay, Elsa. Won't help to panic. Just apologize and give him whatever reparation he'll ask for and everything will be all right._

Elsa then made her way to the dining room, slightly rejoicing when she caught a glimpse of Anna. She however immediately tensed up and bit her lower lip when she saw that Garret was sitting near Kristoff a little further, with his right hand supporting his head up. He was apparently laughing with his neighbor about something Anna had done during the day, but straightened up and took a more serious expression as soon as he realized that she had entered the room.

"Hey, Elsa… Oh there's so much we have to tell you!" Anna began. "But I'd rather we ate first if it's fine with you."

Elsa smiled at her sister's antics. She hadn't gotten so worked up over something since her own birthday, and it made the Queen marvel at how she could make an entire day worth of stories with a simple touristic visit. She took her usual seat and waited for a moment, staring into her trembling and once again steaming hands.

 _Is it stress that causes this? It would make sense if it was_ , she thought.

Elsa took a long breath to calm herself down and stop the uncontrolled leak escaping her fingers.

"Bon appetit," she finally said while lightly grabbing her own fork and picking a very delicious looking piece of potato.

Anna and Kristoff were already halfway through their own plates when they muttered through their fully filled mouths. "Tchu u tchu!", earning a few chuckles from both Elsa and Garret.

Anna started telling their day's adventures shortly after, and while everyone listened, the Queen couldn't stop herself from subtly peeking at the red-head every now and then.

 _I hardly believe this is what a knight looks like_ , she thought as said knight laughed along with the others.

She kept her gaze locked onto him for an instant too much however, and wasn't able to retract in time when Garret's eyes turned around to meet hers. Heavily blushing, she immediately brought her attention back to her plate.

The rest of the meal left Elsa in a very uncomfortable state as she shifted awkwardly while everyone else spoke fondly of the day. They all suddenly heard a little bump on Garret's side of the table, and Elsa noticed that he was very worriedly looking at his hand under the wooden surface.

"Everything okay, G?" Kristoff asked.

"Yes," Garret lied. "I just think I ate a little too fast. Nothing major, really. I just have to get some fresh air and I should be fine," he said while getting up. "Where can I go?" he politely demanded.

Anna directed him towards the outer gardens. He quickly thanked her and hurriedly got out of the room.

Elsa didn't know why he said that, but she very cleared noticed that he had eaten at the same pace as herself. Seeing that she wouldn't have many more occasions to apologize to him without having people around, she decided to go after him.

Anna shot her a quizzical look. "Where are you going?"

"Just making sure that he's fine." The Princess raised an eyebrow at that but didn't pry.

When she neared the door, Elsa tried to imagine what she could say in her mind, quickly abandoning the idea when she realized she'd surely just forget everything as soon as she'd open her mouth. She delicately pushed one of the panels, and before she had the time to call out her guest's name, she sensed something that she hardly ever felt.

 _Cold?_

She slowly advanced with a dumbfounded expression, her hands caressing the walls where some tiny snowflake patterns were beginning to show up. Very quickly, she reached a point where frozen icicles were appearing on the ground. Just as she was about to turn around the last corner, she caught an almost inaudible whisper coming from the small pond near the garden's center. She pressed her back against the wall and listened carefully.

"…knew it wasn't a good idea…"

She very slowly let her eyes poke out from her hiding place.

Garret was sitting near the water pool, his right hand firmly gripping his left wrist. She heard him groan in pain a few times. He slightly stirred, bringing his left side into the moonlight.

Elsa's eyes widened further than they ever did and she felt her legs starting to shake. Garret's left hand was completely covered in ice blocks, a few of them sharp enough to look completely transparent.

 _He… He also…_

The man concentrated for a while and seemingly struggled to disintegrate the protuberances. Elsa noticed that the ice on the walls was resorbing as he worked and soon all traces of crystal had completely vanished. When he was done, Garret let his limb fall to his side and very carefully pulled on his pants' left leg, slowly unveiling his own.

For whatever she had been prepared for, what Elsa witnessed right at that moment was something that she never even dared to dream she would one day see.

Instead of the rosy mix of muscle, bone, nerves and flesh she was expecting, Elsa was greeted by the sight of another massive ice block; the entire piece took the shape of a human leg from the knee down, and was linked to Garret's quadriceps through a frozen joint. Judging from the scars on the stump, the iced prosthesis had apparently replaced his original limb quite some time before. Her hand shot to her mouth, covering the gasp that she was about to release. Her own legs effectively faltered at that exact moment, and she slowly dropped to the ground, causing Garret's head to rapidly snap. She brought her herself back up as fast as she could.

"Is someone there?" the red-head loudly asked as he stood, hiding his frozen leg under his pants once again. "You know, if you're here for the people inside, you'll have to get through me anyway so let's just save ourselves some time and get this over with."

Getting over the initial shock, Elsa gathered her thoughts.

"G… Garret?" she softly called while slowly appearing from behind the wall. The look of utter disbelief that appeared in his eyes made her heart sink. "It's me, don't worry," she tried to say in the most soothing tone she could manage when she saw him take a step back.

"Your…Your Majesty… Did you see…?"

Elsa very slowly nodded, her gaze not leaving his eyes.

 _Please don't run, please don't run, please don't run…_

"Don't panic, Garret. Please. I… I'm not afraid…" she pleaded in a trembling voice.

Garret let his shoulders slump down. He released a heavy sigh and nodded. He then frowned and closed his eyes, awaiting her next words.

She knew that asking after seeing what she just did was a bit dumb, but she wanted to make sure.

"Are you… Are you like me, Garret?" Elsa demanded through the sound of her pounding heart. She brought her hands to her chest. "Do you have powers like mine?"

A faint gust of wind traversed the garden, playing with the nearby bushes' leaves. The sound of a wave crashing itself into the castle's outer rampart echoed through the empty space. Garret opened his eyes and spoke in a low voice.

"Yes… Elsa."

* * *

 ** _Auspicium Melioris Aevi = Token Of a Better Age_**

 **AN: Phew! Told you it was long.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading!**

 **And please consider reviewing! Reviews are the equivalent of hot chocolate on a cold windy night... The definition of happiness. Constructive criticism is really appreciated!**

 **Now onto last chapter's reviews:**

 **LuanaA.R: I'm glad you like my story! I'm not bothered at all, you can write your reviews in whatever language you want. Well, I might not be able to understand if they're written in Chinese, but yeah, you get the idea... Thanks again for your kind words.**

 **CrazyHastings: Thank you for your review! I'll do my best.**

 **That wraps it for now. See you next time.**

 **Peace,**

 **CalAm.**


	4. Queen

**AN: Hey hey! This is the fourth Chapter!**

 **I've always pictured my scenes very precisely, but always avoided to give too much detail. That's why I think the chapters may feel a lot closer to a movie script than anything else. I don't think it's a bad thing, as I'm trying to mimic Frozen's writing as much as I can, but please do tell me if you believe it is bothersome.**

 **I've also gone through the first chapters -I've corrected a few typos, grammar mistakes and other things like that. I'll probably continue to do so, so that I can make this story as enjoyable as possible, so don't hesitate to check them out.**

 **But enough boring chit-chat for now. Hope you'll enjoy.**

* * *

Kristoff had always known that Anna's personality could be very substantially summarized as 'bundle of energy that explodes at the tiniest stimulus'. He never got to know how tiny those stimuli actually had to be, but he was having a live demonstration of pure Anna-isms as she had begun bouncing on her seat as soon as her sister had left the room, her eyes wide open while she squealed in glee.

"Didyasee? Didyasee?" she cheerfully asked, swiftly getting on her feet. She came tugging at her companion's collar, dangling his head back and forth.

"I- I gu-guess I d-didn't…?" the poor man managed to express through the heavy shaking his brain was suffering.

Anna quickly brought her arms to her sides, letting an excited breath escape from her chest while her eyes followed her sister's trail. "She went after him!"

"Ah… Yeah, great. Someone alert the entire kingdom," Kristoff muttered while massaging his sore neck. "I'm all for being always happy and stuff, but I believe that's quite an ordinary accomplishment."

"You don't understand!" she answered while whirling around to face him. "She was totally giving him those little sneak peeks when we were eating, and then he caught her and she… My gosh, this is probably the first time I've ever seen Elsa blush!"

She was interrupted by Kristoff suddenly grabbing her shoulders.

"Okay, Anna, don't lose your head. That's normal. She's going to be fine. Breathe slowly."

The Princess couldn't hide a little smile at Kristoff's playful tone as she yanked his hands away, but she needed to make him comprehend how long she had been waiting for something like that to happen.

"Elsa never loses her composure like she did tonight, Kristoff! There's definitely something…"

"Anna…"

"… she was like 'oh I'll have to make sure he's all right'…"

"Anna!" he loudly called, causing her to abruptly stop her continuous flow. "What is this about?"

"I think that she's falling for Garret!"

The mountain man winced.

"Ummm…"

"Yeah, she's completely falling for him, Kristoff!"

"Anna…?"

"Whaaaat?" she whined.

"You have to calm down a bit. I don't really think that's what happened..."

"Come on, Kristoff! You've got to believe-"

"No, I'm being serious here, Anna," he said with finality as he brought his arms to her shoulders once again, his eyes now a lot more focused. The Princess let all the excitement that she had built up fall flat. Kristoff never pulled the serious talks for no reason. "Your sister isn't a giddy school girl anymore. That is if she ever was one… The point is, I think that there is something with Garret."

Anna's eyes slightly widened.

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you see how both Garret and Elsa seem to be bothered by something whenever they're close to each other? I noticed yesterday when they first met, this morning when they were talking and again a little earlier… Elsa's hands were steaming."

"What?"

"Yeah, she even took a few seconds to stop whatever was happening to her before we started eating."

Anna couldn't believe she missed something so obvious about her sister. She'd ordinarily be the very first to worry.

"Are you sure you weren't dreaming?" she asked in low voice.

"Pretty much."

"The stew was probably a little too hot for you…."

Kristoff rolled his eyes. "… I'm certain of what I saw, okay?"

Anna heavily sighed and took a few moments to think, biting her thumb's nail.

"She didn't talk to me about it… What do you think causes it?"

Kristoff cast his gaze to the ground and let his shoulders lightly slump down.

"That I cannot say for sure…"

"It could be her emotions? That'd connect the dots with what I told you earlier, can it?" Anna said, her eyes lighting up again.

"Could be," Kristoff shrugged. "But probably not in the way you're thinking… I'd say that she knows something we don't…"

"About Garret? How? They hardly talked to each other."

Kristoff raised an eyebrow. "See? Even you can point that out. Why would you ever think of her falling for him?" He lightly laughed when he felt a fist land on his shoulder. "You're right. But Elsa's a lot more knowledgeable than the both of us. Maybe she caught something we missed…"

Anna rapidly inhaled and clasped her hands.

"He's secretly a Prince running away from his responsibilities! Or a rich son of a noble house who got fed up with his life!" she exclaimed with glittering eyes.

"M-Maybe not that extreme…" Kristoff tried to tamp down her enthusiasm. "But probably something along that way."

* * *

Elsa had managed to steady her breath after a while, but didn't usher a word for quite some time. A single thought was completely clouding her mind.

 _He's like me. There's someone like me. I'm not alone._

Garret was still standing there, carefully eyeing her, not really knowing what to do with himself. He had very seriously considered fleeing –he could easily slip away at any moment- but the tone she had used, the pure and raw relief that had shone through her eyes when he had confirmed that he possessed the same powers as her had completely petrified him.

"Excuse me for a moment," the Queen finally muttered, turning her back to the man and taking a few steps. Her body soon began to softly shake as she hugged herself, and a few muffled sounds echoed in the empty gardens.

The red-head had expected a lot of reactions, but certainly not tears. He was now more worried than anything else.

"El- Elsa?" he tentatively tried to close the distance, but as soon as his feet met the cold grass, Elsa turned back, her eyes beading with shiny teardrops, but as opposed to what he had dreaded, her entire face was beaming with a warm smile. She quickly dried up her eyes with a swing of her wrist and a few chuckles.

"I'm sorry, this is the first time I've ever met someone who shared my condition. I shouldn't have gotten this emotional. Please don't mind my silliness," she said, her sentences punctuated by some sniffles.

Garret couldn't help but lightly smile at the sight of the blonde woman embarrassedly laughing at her own 'silly' reaction. However, his face regained a more serious expression when he heard her next question.

"Are there any others?"

"Not that I know of. I'm sorry, Elsa. You're also the first for me."

Elsa's face fell in disappointment. "You too?" Garret nodded. "Then, why didn't you tell me?"

"Umm," the man first seemed hesitant to answer. He stood still, weighing his words.

 _This question was bound to be asked at some point. For what it's worth, might as well go all out._ Garret brought his head down.

"I… I was afraid. Of how you would respond. Even though you… With those powers… That is to say…" Garret stuttered. "I generally never had… peaceful reactions when it was discovered that I could do what I do. Really not peaceful… And, well, there's also the leaking thing…" he continued, raising his left arm for her to appropriately get a look at the glimmering crystals forming on his hand. "This never happened to me before."

"I'm sorry." He felt compelled to add after a few seconds of complete silence.

Elsa took a small step forward. Garrets' head snapped up, his eyes meeting hers. Instead of plunging him into the state of shame he was accustomed to be in, the blue orbs before him made his mind go completely blank. There was no confusion, no fear, no anger, no pity, no compassion. He had become used to recieving those all the time, he always recognized them pretty easily. No, Elsa's face was brimming with something else. A single emotion that he never thought would be directed towards him.

Understanding.

His eyes softened. His pulse evened. His breath relaxed. A weird warmth enveloped his body, and the dizziness he had been feeling for a few moments started to fade away. The Queen lightly laughed while she cast her gaze to the sky.

"Please, don't apologize. You'll begin to sound like me. I didn't want to make you feel bad about yourself. Besides, I can't really blame you. I've done the exact same thing… Only for a lot longer."

 _Oh, right._

"I heard about that."

"Then you must know that it almost ended in a catastrophic way?" she added with a tinge of hurt tainting her otherwise serene voice. Garret silently nodded. "That's what taught me to never hide them anymore."

A heavy silence lingered on afterwards, only allowing the faint whistle of the wind to reach their ears. Elsa nervously played with her fingers, her eyes fixated on Garret's left leg. The sight she had caught earlier would stick to her mind for quite some time. The red-head had obviously noticed and was very awkwardly shifting on his feet.

"Garret, I…" Elsa started. "I'm sorry if I sound rude, but how did this happen?"

Garret released a breath. "The… life of a soldier is a dangerous one. I made a mistake, and I've paid the price," he almost sighed. "Lost my leg, replaced it."

"I'm sorry to hear it," Elsa said in a sympathetic tone. She wanted to know more, but he already was in a very uncomfortable state. She figured asking about something that was obviously hard for him to talk about in such a context would be immensely impolite to say the least. So, without any other idea in mind, she just blurted out the first thing that came to her. "Does it ever melt?"

As soon as the words slipped past her lips, she felt an irresistible urge to slap herself.

 _The guy -who just happens to have powers like yours- has lost a leg, made a replacement out of ice, and you're asking if it MELTS?!_

With a fuming head and reddening cheeks, Elsa quietly scanned Garret's face to see his eyes substantially widen. She was on the verge of apologizing for her stupid question when the red-head slightly startled her by exploding in an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Of all things, hysterical amusement was the reaction Elsa had found to be the less likely in such a situation. But that didn't lessen the embarrassment she was feeling, especially when Garret crouched down on his knees with his body shaking from raw hilarity.

"I'm- sorry," he tried to say through ragged breaths. "I'm r-really… sorry…" he added before coughing a few times. He finally managed to reduce the loud roars to quiet chuckles and to get back on his feet under the astonished -and very slightly hurt- stare of Elsa. He got rid of a tear that had shown up in his eye and joined his palms together. "I'm so terribly sorry. I meant no disrespect. It's just that… I never had to deal with that question before. The few people who find out usually ask if it hurts or if I can feel anything through it. And that's when they didn't just run off screaming to whoever they meet that they had just seen a demon."

He lightly chuckled again and gave the Queen the warmest smile he could manage. Elsa silently marveled at how young that simple gesture made him seem to be. He easily looked like he had just returned five years in time compared to the tired expression he had been displaying until then. The way he had gone from the look of a sad puppy to that of a confident young man through a good laugh had made it very difficult for her to feel mad at him. Her own mouth imperceptibly contorted into a tiny grin.

"That's a very good question, actually," Garret continued while lightly raising the aforementioned leg. "No, it never melts. I can modify its form or completely dissolve it, but unless I act upon it myself, nothing will change its shape. Not even heat."

Elsa was surprised to hear that he too was capable of such a feat. The only other similar creation she had produced was her ice castle, up in the mountains.

 _He must have had an intense emotional rush when building it,_ she thought.

"I see. Your ice is as strong as mine, then."

Another silence. Garret suddenly raised his arms on both sides and shrugged. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"Oh… Why?"

"Your magic is… more powerful. A lot more."

Elsa frowned. Until then he had shown a prowess equal to hers.

"I'm not…"

"Elsa, it's simple. You can create life. I can't."

That stopped her train of thoughts. She was now a lot more curious.

"You can't?"

"Nope. I'm not even able to control ice at a distance. I have total mastery over it on my body and near it –with 'near' meaning a few inches away- but you have better range, better overall control. I can't do... that," he added while motioning towards her dress with his hand. "Maybe I was able to at one point..." he sighed, deciding not to finish that sentence. "Even when comparing the reactions we had to each other… You surely felt something, didn't you?"

Elsa slowly gazed upon her hands at that. "Yes, my hands were emitting steam on their own."

Garret imperceptibly winced. She had just confirmed another fear of his. "See? While I had these… spikes," he almost spat the word. "…coming out of my hands."

Elsa recalled her own experiences and tried to reassure him. "Garret, I've had similar episodes before."

The man perked up. "You did?" his voice carrying an unmistakably hopeful tone. Elsa slowly nodded.

"I did when I was shutting everything and everyone out. I… also made a mistake one day. And I thought that suppressing my powers would solve the problem. As you can probably guess, it didn't work as intended. And if it weren't for Anna, I'd…" Elsa paused. "I've come a long way, Garret. I never actually assumed full control."

"I see." He then seemed to sink deeply in his thoughts, apparently processing all of their exchange. Elsa had surely given him a lot to chew over.

"Now what?" he heard her voice call out a few moments afterwards.

"Well… I think I'm going to stay for the festival as we agreed, and then I'll be on my way."

"What? Are you being serious?" Her outburst almost made Garret flinch as he leaned away. She had closed the distance between them in a flash, and was now angrily staring at his face with what could only be described as a pout all over her beautiful face and her hands on her hips. "We're probably the only two people in a pretty large radius to have those powers, and you just want to walk away?"

"Ummm… It has nothing to do with you, it's just what I was planning to do anyway," Garret tried to extricate himself from the strangely familiar situation.

"You're being silly. You're really going to let the opportunity to learn how to control your power slip away like that?"

Garret's eyes widened. _Knew it,_ Elsa proudly told herself.

"T-Train?" he asked in a disbelieving voice. Elsa's stare softened as she took a step back and folded her hands before her.

"Yes. I'd be more than happy to teach you. If you'll allow me, of course."

Garret was at a complete loss of words. And his gaping mouth surely gave it away.

"You're going to catch flies like that..." Elsa teased with a little laugh.

Garret finally managed to get a hold of himself. "I'm… I don't know what to say…"

"Then don't. Stay," Elsa finally said. "I still have to repay you for saving Anna and Kristoff. I'd say this would be sufficient?"

Garret let the shock's aftermath fall down and slightly chuckled.

"You know, if I was a little nitpicky, I would say that it almost sounds like you're blackmailing me." Elsa crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow as she answered.

"It's not blackmail unless I order you. But that can be arranged if it is your wish."

Garret laughed, his traits rejuvenating once again. "Never go against the word of the Queen. That's what they always told us back home."

"Oh, how right they were," Elsa added as she lightly chuckled herself. She then delicately raised her hand. "So... Do we have a deal?"

Garret eyed the offered handshake, shook his head once and brought his own cold palm to meet hers. "Deal."

He then slowly bent down on one knee, holding her hand before his head. "Thank you, Milady."

Elsa gave him a kind smile. The scene almost seemed taken out of one of her books, even though it obviously was some kind of knightly protocol. It was always a very chivalrous…

She brusquely yanked her hand away and covered her mouth. She had completely forgotten the reason she had come to see him in the first place. The abrupt movement caused Garret to throw a worried look at the woman before him and wonder if he had done something wrong.

"Garret… You're a knight?" Elsa murmured a few seconds later.

 _Oh._

"How… What…" he began, not sure if he wanted to infirm or confirm. He settled for a strange grimace, his expression halfway between nervous and surprised.

"The knife you have, there's a seal etched onto it," she explained. "That's a knighthood token, isn't it?"

Garret wasn't even surprised at that point. He released a breath and got up on his feet while dusting his pants. It was really hard to keep things from her, and he figured the distance that separated him from his motherland wasn't a safety check anymore.

"It is," he said, almost reluctantly. "I'm a Knight of the Bath. Not that I approve of that name, mind you…" he sheepishly added. He then quickly spoke when he saw that Elsa was opening her mouth. "But…! That doesn't mean that you have to apologize for this morning. I'm… I am not bound to the crown anymore. I have no ties with the Commonwealth authorities. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the Arthurian le –I mean of course you're familiar with the Arthurian legend," he immediately corrected when he noticed the scolding look that she was giving him. "And with Lancelot?" She nodded. "Well, I'm a little bit like him now, a wandering knight with no ties. Only a lot less legendary. And with less magical swords. And a bunch more ice, I guess."

Elsa was a little dubious at first, and her gaze clearly showed it.

"Come on, why would I lie about this?" Garret said. She raised an eyebrow and he rolled his eyes. "Fine. I can make another oath if that's what you want."

That got the appropriate reaction out of the Queen. She stepped forward, waving her wide open palms with a frantic look. "No, no, no! That… won't be necessary."

 _Knew it_ , Garret thought with a satisfied grin.

"We can talk about all of this later if you wish, Your Majesty. But I fear that your sister and Sir Kristoff will begin to worry if we stay here for too long. We should probably go back."

Elsa nodded but held a smug look.

"I agree. But, why the formal tone? You were doing fine just calling me Elsa until now…"

Garret hadn't even noticed that he had dropped the titles when addressing her. He had called her by her name for the entirety of the conversation, and it didn't even feel wrong.

"Oh, I didn't…"

Elsa laughed as he blushed.

"Don't worry, I'm just sassing you."

"Right. Your Majesty."

"Garret…"

"…Right, Elsa. Better?"

"Better," she concluded with a satisfied smile.

They slowly made their way towards the dining room, each one them silently processing what had just transpired while they strode through the thinly draped crimson halls. As he held the door open for Elsa to enter another corridor, Garret quietly spoke.

"I'm guessing we're going to tell them everything?"

Elsa didn't even have to think. "Of course. Believe me, it'll make things a lot easier," she answered with the same sad smile he had witnessed earlier.

"Understood. Should I expect a lot of questions?" he demanded as they neared the very last gate.

He didn't know what to understand from the amused expression that appeared on Elsa's face.

* * *

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" a shriek echoed through the large room.

"Anna…"

Said Princess immediately grabbed her sister's hands with watering eyes. "You're… He's … Oh God, Elsa I'm so happy!" she wailed while hugging the Queen's small frame.

"All right. All right. We don't have to make that much of a fuss about it."

"Are you kidding?" Anna shot out with an immense grin. "You're not the only one, Elsa! There's no way we aren't making a fuss about this! We should make a party! We should tell the world!"

"Umm…" a small voice started from the side. Both royals turned around to see Garret timidly raising a finger. "As much as I appreciate the thought, I'd really rather we didn't…?" he hesitantly said.

"Yooooooouu!" Anna rapidly closed in and Garret braced himself for the inevitable shock… of the red-head throwing herself around him in a crushing embrace. He returned the gesture a little clumsily. When she stepped back, her grin had not diminished in the slightest.

"You're a frozen knight! How cool is that?" she exclaimed.

"P-pretty cool, I guess," he tentatively said, not wanting to bring attention to the –surely unintended- pun.

Kristoff was standing back with crossed arms and a smile, silently watching the scene unfold. He slightly stirred to face Elsa, who was stifling a laugh at the sight of her sister almost lifting Garret off the ground.

"What a surprise, huh?" she started.

"Yeah, it sort of came out of nowhere. Who could have guessed?" Kristoff said.

"Certainly not me."

"Where do we go from here, then?" the mountain man asked while Anna jumped around Garret, showering him with a continuous flow of questions.

"He'll stay. At least, for a while. I… promised to train him."

"Train?" Kristoff seemed confused. "No offense, but I'd say that if a single person in this city needed training, he wouldn't be the most obvious option. Especially if you consider the way he took down four armed guys almost on his own."

"Not that kind of training, Kristoff," Elsa clarified.

"Oh," he blustered, comprehension dawning on his features. "Does he… have trouble controlling them?" His tone was now a little more worried.

"He says he does, but I think it's not that bad."

"And what if something goes completely wrong in the middle of the kingdom? And, can we really leave him alone wit…"

"Kristoff…" Elsa began, not without a little exasperation. "Do you really think me this neglecting? We won't do it here; we'll probably use my castle. And in the eventuality that his powers completely goes 'berserk', I'm pretty sure I'll be able to handle him…" she concluded. "And you can come if you wish," she added with a roll of her eyes when she saw his eyebrow twitch. Kristoff nodded with a satisfied expression.

Elsa then moved towards where Anna was still bouncing before a tired looking Garret.

"Anna, I think it's time to let Garret go. He'll have to rest for tomorrow's celebration."

"Oh, Elsa!" the Princess chirped. "I think I know how we're going to call him!" She took a step back and opened her arms wide, as if presenting the latest fashionable dress to an overstrung crowd. Elsa winced in anticipation.

"Meet Knice! You get it? 'Cause…"

"All right, that's… yeah, that's original…" Elsa interrupted with an unsettled voice. She threw a quick glance towards 'Knice', only to find him gazing towards her with a livid and pleading face.

Sorry…shementally apologized. ' _I'll take care of it_ ', she mouthed, giving him a sympathetic grimace. The Queen then clapped her hands once. "Anyway, we'll have enough time for questions tomorrow… He's probably very tired now," she told Anna.

"Yeah, be sure to rest well!" the latter finally said, giving Garret one last quick hug.

"Will do," Garret answered. He then grabbed Kristoff's offered handshake. "Does she ever sleep?" he whispered to the man, eliciting a small grin out of him.

"I think she tried once or twice. Didn't stick." They both shared a laugh before separating.

Garret finally found himself standing before Elsa. He rapidly bowed with a grateful smile.

"Good night," he simply said, immediately turning on his heels afterwards.

As he took his leave, Elsa couldn't repress a little regret creeping up on her for not telling him the complete truth about a few things.

 _Then again, he wasn't honest with me on everything either,_ she tried to reassure herself. She let a sigh escape from her chest.

As the red-head's large silhouette disappeared behing the gate's panel, Elsa couldn't help but feel that despite how comfortable they had become with each other in such a short time, she was going to have a little trouble deciphering the man. She didn't know whether she wanted to pry further or not, but that Ice Knight really turned out to be a fascinating mystery.

* * *

 **AN: Pheeeew!**

 **Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review, I'd be immensely grateful.**

 **As I said, I'm building this story like I'd build a movie, so if that's a problem in some way, please don't hesitate to tell me! I'm open to all kind of constructive criticism.**

 **About the extras, I've updated the art for Garret. The previous one had a weird feeling about it IMO. The new one is a more precise representation of how I imagined him. Of course, that's my vision. If you already have an image of him, it's not worse than mine. I give a general description and you imagine yours. That's how book characters work, they're all Garrets :D.**

 **I've also added an art portraying Elsa in my style, because why not? (...I was bored) Both links can be found in my profile page.**

 **No reviews to answer to this time, unfortunately :(.**

 **That's all for now, see you next time.**

 **Peace,**

 **CalAm.**

 **Edit: Like a beginner, I forgot that FanFiction didn't like links X(. I'm sorry if you checked the profile and found nothing, I've corrected the issue, so now it should be working (hopefully).**


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